Fiesta ST Winter Tires, Lets hear what you think

[Speedboosted]

If I go with the 15" steelies and a 60 aspect route, can I expect this car's handling/steering to remain reasonably balanced?

Balanced? Sure. Just far less response and grip of course. How aggressive do you plan to drive on winter tires?

 

[custom500]

I was referring to over/under steer. I used a 65 aspect tire on 14" rims on my focus and the car went nuts with oversteer. I was able to null this out by fully softening the back shocks, but that's not possible now with this one.

 

[KKaWing]

I have 15" steelies on 185/60-15 Hankook i419 for winter use. Overall, if you are not jerking the wheel and do abrupt maneuvers, the car remains predictable. That said, I had to swerve because someone cut me off. I'd like to think I managed to catch the back end in time, but traction and stability control definitely did their jobs. The marshmallows were squirmy to say the least, and once it rolls onto the sidewalls... feels like and abrupt turn when you solo in a canoe/kayak.

 

[custom500]

Well then, I'll try it and hope for the best. I forgot about the stability control maybe saving the day if things got out of hand. Might even be fun to experiment with.

 

[ROCKYFiestta]

just got blizzaks installed 620 bucks at tire racks for the set well worth since we already got snowed on in colorado definitely made a difference over the summer tire lol

 

[ROCKYFiestta]

went with stock size btw.

 

[Poleczechy]

I scored a set of Focal F05's with nearly new 195/55r 15 XL Michelin X-Ice off CL for a price I couldn't pass on. I've only driving them on dry roads, yes there is a noticeable loss to the overall "sporty-ness" but from a commuter standpoint they deal with the potholes and cracks on the road 1000x better than the stock wheels. Now, I'm waiting for it to actually snow here in Denver so I can go play...

 

[Grahamf]

I'm sorry if this has been discussed before, but do you recommend 15", 16", or 17" in slush and ice conditions? I got basic 15" winter tires just so i could drive it off the lot, but I'd rather switch to nicer rims and am willing to wait until the tread wears out. Currently I'm looking at these three options:

Fastwheels orbit 15x6.5
Fastwheels orbit 16x7
Touren TR60 I like this one because it has a red accent that suits the Molten Orange Fiesta (the only other red ones are not winter friendly), but I'm not sure if it's okay to go with 17" for winter

thanks.

 

[TyphoonFiST]

Hell I roll Stock size Winter Tires on Stock Rado Wheels all winter! They work way better than Stock all season tire that's for dam sho!

 

[Intuit]

[MENTION=11373]Grahamf[/MENTION] - Members often sell their wheels here. I picked up a second set of with tires and TPMS for a good price. That freed up the original wheels for the Continental brand snow tires below.

 

[Phishy]

I have had a bunch and I will say Nokians/Hakka's are worth every penny. They preform better in all ways and last MUCH longer for me than Blizzacks or any of the "cheap" stuff.

For most people I recommend they get the least aggressive snow tire they think they need. In most snow climates you are still driving on plowed dry asphalt much of the time. Generally the better they are on snow and ice the faster they wear and worse they feel on dry clear pavement.

Studs have been proven outdated for 95% of people and conditions. Snow tire tech has come a long way in the last 20 years or so, and mostly rendered studs a bad idea, IMHO.

Also if you relish 3rd and 4th gear wheelspin with your tiny snows and relatively monster FWD TQ none of them last very long.

 

[Jerickson88]

So, general knowledge, are all winter tires for 15" T or S rated?

 

[M-Sport fan]

The (dryer weather) 'performance' oriented ones tend to be H rated, or even V rated in some instances.

The more deep snow and ice, pure winter performance oriented ones tend to be Q, R, S, and T rated.

 

[Peter H]

I'm using my OE wheels with Blizzaks for winter; they work great.

 

[Jerickson88]

The (dryer weather) 'performance' oriented ones tend to be H rated, or even V rated in some instances.

The more deep snow and ice, pure winter performance oriented ones tend to be Q, R, S, and T rated.

I'm picking up some 15" steel locally, and am trying to decide on if I want a more performance oriented tire, or longevity, but saw winterforces on ebay for a steal. No I dont need them in AL. Sold my truck so the fiesta is getting a rack put on it for kayak fishing, and more of a mountain goat lol.

 

[Phishy]

I'm picking up some 15" steel locally, and am trying to decide on if I want a more performance oriented tire, or longevity, but saw winterforces on ebay for a steal. No I dont need them in AL. Sold my truck so the fiesta is getting a rack put on it for kayak fishing, and more of a mountain goat lol.

Winterforce are actually surprisingly decent. I have run them on a couple beaters and we used to mount them on the cop cars when I worked at a tire shop in the Minne burbs years ago.

I ran snows on my Golf last summer when I went to spectate a Rally so lots of gravel ripping, surprisingly effective. Nothing like a real gravel tire I am sure, but my summer tire buddies in Scooby's were amazed at my dirt pace. That was all the tires.

 

[Jerickson88]

Winterforce are actually surprisingly decent. I have run them on a couple beaters and we used to mount them on the cop cars when I worked at a tire shop in the Minne burbs years ago.

I ran snows on my Golf last summer when I went to spectate a Rally so lots of gravel ripping, surprisingly effective. Nothing like a real gravel tire I am sure, but my summer tire buddies in Scooby's were amazed at my dirt pace. That was all the tires.

Yeah that's kind of my line of thought. Alot of the places I'm gonna want to go will be in least favorable conditions to fish. We dont get any snow for real, but when it gets wet, takes forever to dry out. We will be using the car to travel some this winter. Plan to go to the high country in NC, the nasty Natti, maybe even Arkansas to Ozarks.

 

[M-Sport fan]

I ran snows on my Golf last summer when I went to spectate a Rally so lots of gravel ripping, surprisingly effective. Nothing like a real gravel tire I am sure, but my summer tire buddies in Scooby's were amazed at my dirt pace. That was all the tires.

^^^EXACTLY WHY (except I work/volunteer on three of them a year) I have a set of 195/60-15 General Altimax Arctic 12s (instead of the softer/more 'sipey', almost brush-like, pure ice 'studless' type winters) mounted on my 15x7 Method MR501 VTs.

These things have the closest I've ever seen to most of the real gravel tires' tread pattern, plus an XL side wall, which yes, is still nowhere near as strong as those multi rib external side walls on the gravel tires, but better than the non-XL rated ones.

REAL, full-on gravel tires would probably be made slicks on the almost 500 mile highway drive, by the time I reached Bethel, Maine for NEFR, besides being at least $200.00 each, so they are a NO GO for me.

 

[Phishy]

^^^That's great, but (and I'm almost positive that BRGT350, and others who are versed on the topic, will agree with this), you WANT that side wall flex/'squishiness' in a winter wheel/tire setup which is going to be used in actual snow conditions, as it helps promote tread void emptying of slush and snow as the tire moves along the covered surface.

Stiffening up the side wall with a stretched tire, on an 8" wide wheel, helps to NEGATE this process, and helps to defeat the very purpose of a winter setup for all but just cold/DRY conditions.

I had 225/55-16 winter tires on my 16x8 factory wheels on my Z28, and I thought THAT was making the side walls WAY TOO rigid for effective winter SNOW use!

This is all pretty much right on. Sidewall deflection and flex plays a big part in the way snows are engineered. I am not an expert by any means but I have been driving in Minne or ND for 25 years and worked at a tire shop for 5, owned probably 15 winter setups, so I probably have a decent take on this.

There is a direct give and take between dry pavement and snow/ice preformance. Squishy comes with the territory if you are going to get real snow and ice performance. The sidewalls, the tire blocks themselves, the rubber compounds used it all adds up.

You run small hardcore snows and bigger hardcore summers back and forth all year and any car feels night and day different. Doesnt matter the layout, MR, RWD, FWD shitbox beater etc.

Newish 911's with 18" no sidewall Pirelli sottozeros or whatever work in the snow but the engine behind the rear axle does most of that.

If you can afford it run the smallest cheapest wheel that will clear your brakes and pick the right winter tire for your situation. Enjoy the cushy sidewall ride for a few months. Go buck wild on your summers.

 

[Jerickson88]

This is all pretty much right on. Sidewall deflection and flex plays a big part in the way snows are engineered. I am not an expert by any means but I have been driving in Minne or ND for 25 years and worked at a tire shop for 5, owned probably 15 winter setups, so I probably have a decent take on this.

There is a direct give and take between dry pavement and snow/ice preformance. Squishy comes with the territory if you are going to get real snow and ice performance. The sidewalls, the tire blocks themselves, the rubber compounds used it all adds up.

You run small hardcore snows and bigger hardcore summers back and forth all year and any car feels night and day different. Doesnt matter the layout, MR, RWD, FWD shitbox beater etc.

Newish 911's with 18" no sidewall Pirelli sottozeros or whatever work in the snow but the engine behind the rear axle does most of that.

If you can afford it run the smallest cheapest wheel that will clear your brakes and pick the right winter tire for your situation. Enjoy the cushy sidewall ride for a few months. Go buck wild on your summers.

My issue is I'm in central AL. Lucky to get snowfall once a year, I picked up some 15s locally. Need tires, so i was considering a winter set up, since summer tires are a no go below 50*, Am I waiting money on them, and could it be better served on nice all seasons?